Matthew reached the village as soon as he could; out of breath and gasping for air, he paused for a moment. He placed his hands on his knees and took a few gulps of air, wiping sweat off his forehead before standing up again and running to Mogens' den, knocking on the door quickly before opening it and entering the main room. He had no intention of going into the room with Irunya in it and worrying her. "Mogens?"
"Mogens isn't here." Natalia growled lowly at him. "He's out on patrol, now get out."
"Merde." He cusses, out of breath. "Natalia. Do you know where that warm swimming place that Ivan likes is?" Matthew pants, a worried look on his face.
"Yes, everybody does. Why." She demanded.
"Ivan's fighting with someone there now." He says, breathing heavily as he tried to talk and catch his breath at the same time. "I don't know who, it's not a pack member. Ivan was too insistent on me leaving for it to have been a pack member. The man didn't seem to know who I was either."
It couldn't be-! Natalia quickly got up and headed for the door. "Move!"
Matthew moved out of the way quickly. "Thank you." He says, nodding and taking a moment to catch his breath now. Natalia howled as soon as she was outside and shifted before running off with two wolves following after her.
He took several minutes to catch his breath. After he had, he knocked lightly on the door to Irunya's room before peeking in. "Irunya?" He asks quietly, not wanting to wake her if she was asleep, but there she was sleeping soundly curled up around her pups.
)*(
Matthew walked a little bit before plopping down in the snow, his heart still racing from the adrenaline of running so far in such a short amount of time. He had a worried expression on his face though. He wanted to go back to the hot springs but he knew he'd only get in the way. Natalia and the others could help Ivan but Matthew had to stay here and wait anxiously until they returned.
About another twenty minutes had passed before more howling was heard and it was getting closer too. Within a few moments, Natalia came ripping through the village, howling as she passed.
Matthew's head turned and he stood up, a confused look on his face. Then she passed him again, but with three other wolves behind her as she went back the way she came. There was a rather large group forming at the entrance of the village.
Matthew went over to the entrance, a confused and worried look on his face, trying to figure out what was happening. The pack members were blocking his view but many of them were gasping and making pained or disgusted remarks on what they were looking at. He tried to see over them but couldn't so he tapped the shoulder of the nearest pack member. "What's going on?" He asks, a concerned look on his face.
"It's Ivan and he looks badly wounded." They said as they looked back at Matthew. "Natalia's brought some of the healers, but I say this is his last stunt."
"What?" Matthew's confusion changed to worry. He slowly worked his way through the crowd until he could see Ivan, trying not to be rude while he was doing so. The tiger was laid out on the ground, unconscious and covered in quite a lot of blood. It was even dying his fur red and with all of the wounds on his sides, stomach, and face, there was a big chance that all of it was his.
Mogens and a few others were trying to help his wounds stop bleeding; the bite marks and claw marks were big and deep; bits of his ribs were even showing. Matthews's eyes widened in shock at the amount of blood and he rushed up to help Mogens and the others stop the bleeding.
"Matthew? You shouldn't get so close." Mogens warned him. "Ivan sometimes wakes in shock and lashes out. You're not fast enough to move out of the way."
"I want to help." Matthew says stubbornly.
"Alright, as long as you back off when any off us say to. You won't survive if Ivan attacks." He continued to help the others with Ivan's sides.
Matthew nodded. "What happened? Did you guys not get there in time?"
"We don't have to know what happened. There's only one thing that can mess Ivan up this bad solo." Mogens growled.
"What?" The boy looked confused.
"Bear. And a big one too." Mogens said angrily as half of the group around them started to freak out and panic about a bear being led here because of Ivan's scent and blood.
Matthew sighed and frowned, working to help stop the bleeding. "How much blood do you think he's lost so far?" He asks, trying to get an idea of how bad this situation currently was. Well, obviously it was a severe situation but he wasn't sure how severe.
"A lot, if he doesn't wake up from shock. He'll be out for days."
"We have to stop the bleeding first." Even if Ivan would be out for days, he would only be out for days if he didn't die of blood loss first.
)*(
It took them over an hour to get the wounds to stop bleeding, wrap them up tight, and get Ivan moved carefully back to his den. The hardest part was actually moving him without re-opening the wounds; Ivan's tiger form was huge and heavy. Matthew helped as much as he could and when they were done, he looked exhausted but the worried look was still in place as well.
Ivan slept calmly, but it could be either a good or bad sign. "Just come and see me if you need anything, okay?" Mogens patted his shoulder.
Matthew nodded. "Could you keep Jiro there for a few days?" He asks tiredly. "I don't think it'd be a good idea to keep him here unless Natalia will let Jiro sleep in her room with her for a few days while Ivan heals. Although I don't really think that's a good idea either..."
"I'm sure it will be no problem. Would you like me to keep Natalia at my place too?" He was a bit worried what Natalia would do to him alone like this.
Matthew shook his head. "No, let her stay here. She can blame me if she wants to but I'm the one that ran back for help in the first place." He wavers in place for a moment before sitting down and leaning against the wall of the den, an exhausted look on his face.
"Hey... Are you okay?"
"Probably." He says with a slight shrug. "I just overexerted myself to get help earlier. I should be fine after some rest. I'm exhausted."
"Have you eaten today? Because you should at least eat before you go to sleep."
"I ate before I dropped Jiro off at your place. Not since then though. Some fruit will be fine."
"Would you like me to go get you some? Or is there some here for you?"
"Could you get me some please?"
Mogens nodded. "Sure. You can rest until I get back all right?"
)*(
Four days passed by the time Ivan had fully awakened. He had opened his eyes maybe a few times over the days but slowly closed them again. Today he started off with slowly stirring awake, licking his dry mouth and lips, and then carefully stretching.
During the four days, Matthew had gone out to eat, get sunlight, and visit Jiro to play with him but for the most part he'd mainly stayed inside, worried about Ivan.
Today, he had been kind of slouched against the wall of the den, his eyes closed. He wasn't asleep though, just resting his eyes.
Ivan moaned painfully as he shifted into his night form, wanting to be able to speak to the young man. Matthew's eyes opened at the noise, sitting up in surprise and moving over to him. "Ivan?"
"Y-es..?" His voice was hoarse and dry.
"Finally, you're awake." The boy gave a relieved sigh.
The tiger tried to laugh at the remark. "O-oh? How, how long have I been asleep?"
"Four days."
He shrugged weakly. "Eh, not as long as I thought. I've been out for a week before."
Matthew frowned unhappily at this.
"Well... It's time to get up. I still have to keep up with my duties." Ivan slowly started to force his sore body to stand but his legs shook and his wounds threatened to give.
Matthew scowled and got up, forcing Ivan back down while trying not to disturb the wounds. "No." He says firmly, pursing his lips in disapproval.
"No?" Now it was Ivan's turn to look unhappy. This was the second time Matthew had willingly put his hands on him and back rides didn't count. Ivan was not happy with the turn out.
"Correct." The boy says, crouching down in front of Ivan, frown still in place.
"Why? I will get in trouble if I don't do my work."
"You're still injured. You need to heal first."
"I will still heal if I'm not in the den Matthew."
Matthew frowned but couldn't argue with that. "Fine, but be careful." He says unhappily, standing up.
"Thank you." Ivan stands, his body reacting the same way as before.
Matthew watched quietly. "I'm serious about being careful." He says after a moment. "Don't hurt yourself more. Got it?"
Ivan looked at him oddly and slowly started to walk to the main room. The boy mutters to himself in annoyed French while he got his boots on, following Ivan into the main room as the tiger continued to head for the front door.
Matthew walked around him and stopped before the door, blocking Ivan's way and leaning against it and crossing his arms with a frown. "Ivan."
"Matthew." The tiger looked puzzled. "Why are you blocking the door?"
"I want you to promise you're going to take care of yourself and not do anything to injure yourself more or reopen those wounds before I let you go outside." The boy says seriously, pursing his lips a bit.
"... I don't think that's possible. I have patrol to do and I have to work in the shop too. I also have to hunt for you and me."
Matthew gave an irritated huff. "Promise that you'll at least try to take care of yourself then."
"Fine." He sighed. "I will try."
"You better mean it and not just be saying it so I'll let you out." Matthew grumbles, pushing himself off the door and opening it for Ivan with an unamused expression. "I dislike it when someone worries me like that and then doesn't take care of themselves. It only makes me worry more. Especially if it's someone I care about."
The man paused and looked down at him. "Care? You really mean that?"
"Yes."
Ivan leaned in close to Matthew's face, leaving a few inches between them and just looking at him. Matthew arched an eyebrow curiously as Ivan then lightly touched his nose against Matthew's before pulling away.
The boy blinked a bit in surprise before smiling a bit. "I'm going to go get Jiro now. Remember to try to take care of yourself, okay?" And then he left while Ivan just stood there for a while, thinking over and over about what Matthew had said. Ivan then slowly made his way towards the shop. Maybe tomorrow he would do patrols; today his body didn't feel as up for it as he thought.
)*(
Mogens was the one who answered the door when Matthew knocked. "Ah Matthew, what brings you over here? Is everything alright?"
"I came to pick up Jiro. Ivan's awake now." He says simply.
The wolf chuckled and went to go get the cub. "I though it was about time he woke up."
Matthew smiled a bit and followed him into the main room. "He insisted on getting back to work though." He gave a sigh.
"That's just how Ivan is, and my father would wouldn't have it any other way."
"I suppose." He says with a shrug. "Anyway, how are Irunya and the pups?"
"Doing good. I can't wait until their little eyes open for the first time." He smiled so brightly. The male wolf then opened the door to his room and retrieved the sleepy cub for him.
"Thanks for watching him for me so long."
"It's no problem, Irunya considers him part of the family now."
Matthew then bid him goodbye and left with Jiro in his arms. He wandered around for a while, not sure what he wanted to do at the moment. He didn't want to pester Ivan but maybe there was someone else he could hang out with for a while and talk to. He wondered where Toris and Feliks were; he hadn't seen them for quite a while now.
A male pack member suddenly and randomly came up to him. "Hey... You do smell nice."
Matthew blinked in surprise, a slightly confused look on his face as the pack member circled around him. "… I what?"
"You smell really, really, nice." He smiled and nuzzled Matthew's neck as he pressed himself up against the other, placing his hands on the boy's hips as he lightly rubbed himself against the boy's backside.
Matthew made a sound of surprise and pulled away, frowning in confusion and looking at the wolf like 'what the hell' before walking away quickly.
"Hey! Where are you going?" The wolf followed after him, showing some confusion as well, but Matthew sped up his pace, not answering.
Growing a little irritated, the wolf caught up with him quickly and grabbed the boy's arm. "I'm talking to you, female! Don't walk away from me after I compliment you."
Matthew frowned angrily and tugged his arm out of the wolf's grasp. "I'm not a female! Now leave me alone." He turned and briskly walked away, wondering what the hell that was all about.
The pack member growled and shoved Matthew to the ground before he got too far away. "You don't damn well smell otherwise!"
Matthew grunted as he hit the ground, growling a bit in annoyance as he sat up and checked to make sure Jiro was okay. The cub was awake, surprised, and more than a little unhappy at being temporarily squished but was otherwise unharmed as far as Matthew could tell at the moment. He stood up and scowled at the wolf. "What the hell was that for?"
"You need to learn a lesson that's what." He snarled and bared his teeth as he grabbed Matthew, the cub tumbling from his arms. Jiro squeaked as he was dropped, looking around in surprise and trying to figure out where his mother had gone.
The wolf had dragged Matthew in-between dens and pinned him on his back. "You ain't got no marking on you so that makes you free for the taking. But don't worry I'll make sure you enjoy it."
At the wolf's words, Matthew's eyes widened in surprise before he immediately started trying to push the wolf off of him. "What? Get the hell off of me!" Hearing Matthew's shout, Jiro ran over to find the man attacking his mother. The cub scampered over onto his mother's chest and attempted to growl at the wolf and protect his mother.
"I'll eat that cub if it doesn't get lost." The wolf snarled and shoved the cub off before he flipped Matthew onto his back. Jiro squeaked and tumbled a bit as he was shoved off, shaking his head in surprise and getting his bearings before going over and biting at the wolf attacking his mother. The wolf hardly noticed though and Matthew was forced down into the snow as the attacker worked on the skirt of the boy's dress.
"Don't you dare." Matthew growls back, struggling and kicking at the wolf and generally making it harder to remove the skirt while shouting for help. "Ivan!"
"The cub will make a nice snack after we have mated and bonded." He tried to keep the boy still as he worked on exposing him. "And calling for another will do you no good, pack rules say that un-mated females are free for the taking."
"Don't touch him!" Matthew shouts, still kicking and struggling. "And I don't care what that damn rule says, get off me! Help! Ivan!"
A sudden blur of red and white rushed by and the wolf had taken off in that instant. It was odd and unpredictable from what was happening. Why had he suddenly just left? But the sides of the dens and ground had faint spots of red liquid on them now; blood.
Matthew pulled the skirt back down and stood up quickly while Jiro went over and sniffed at the blood. The boy picked up Jiro, glancing at the blood before exiting the area he was in, going back out into the open and looking around, a bit confused but relieved the wolf had left.
He then saw that there was a trail of blood on the ground that lead away from him. Moments later, a loud pained howl was let out; it sounded like someone was butchering a dog. Matthew started in surprise at the howl and stood there for a moment frowning in thought before running towards the noise, following the trail of blood.
At the end of the trail, Ivan pinning the wolf to the ground and sinking his claws into the wolf's back, his powerful jaws trapping the wolf's shoulder. The wolf was bleeding badly, howling, and whimpering in pain.
It was clear that Ivan's wounds had reopened, which would explain the blood in between the dens. Matthew's eyes widened in surprise at the sight. "Ivan! Stop!" He shouts in alarm, running over. "Don't kill him!"
Ivan growled and glared at him, as if daring to ask why he should let him live as he crushed more of the poor wolf's shoulder.
Matthew stopped a safe distance away from the two, not very keen on getting too close to them at the moment. "You'll get in trouble if you kill him." He says frowning unhappily.
Ivan's growls lowered and he cast his gaze down to his victim. Slowly, he let go of the shoulder after thinking things over for a bit. He gave the wolf one big slash with his claws across his back though. Then as Ivan stood, he wobbled greatly; dizzy from blood loss and adrenaline.
Matthew gave a relieved sigh when Ivan let the wolf go, hurrying over. He moved Jiro to one arm while he helped Ivan not fall over with the other. "Careful."
"Touch Matthew again and I'll see that the crows eat your beating heart out of your chest." Ivan hissed loudly and he started to walk away from the wolf.
Matthew frowned a bit at the imagery and followed after Ivan. "Thanks." He says after a moment.
"I'm sorry..." The tiger replied with a weak voice, his steps as sluggish as his bleeding wounds, though he made sure to stay close to him in some way.
"What for?" The boy frowned in confusion, slowing his pace and walking next to Ivan.
"For not making sure you would be safe... and for my wounds..." Ivan spoke as he stumbled.
Matthew sets Jiro down and quickly moves to make sure Ivan doesn't fall. He sighs as he moves closer, getting blood on his clothes and himself while he wraps an arm around Ivan's waist and wraps the tiger's arm around his shoulder, helping to support Ivan's weight as they walked. Ivan winced a bit and gently let some of his weight fall on the boy. "Don't apologize." Matthew says with a soft sigh. "Let's go home and stop your wounds from bleeding and then you can get some rest."
"Nn.." Ivan nodded slowly, his head spinning too much to really take in anything the boy was saying, but let himself be led. Matthew walked with him slowly, helping support his weight as they walked back to the den; Jiro following after them like a good little cub.
)*(
Ivan was beginning to lose consciousness by the time they reached the den. His eyes kept drooping closed and he had to constantly keep himself awake.
Matthew helped him inside and into their room. He left Ivan for a moment to make sure Jiro was inside before closing the front door and going back into their room to find that Ivan's eyes were slowly closing as the tiger lay in the furs.
The boy sighed and got to work, making sure Ivan's wounds stopped bleeding before letting him rest. Ivan was breathing slowly and softly, mumbling a few times.
The blond sat back and wiped the blood off his hands onto his already bloody dress. He really needed clean ones but they could wait until later. He didn't like the idea of leaving the den on his own right now. Sighing, he sat back, leaning against the wall of the den and resting a bit himself.
The tiger's ears twitched. "Mm... Ma-tthew.." He mumbled.
Matthew lifted his head up a bit, not sleeping, just resting. "Yes?" Ivan didn't move or open his eyes, he just moaned and mumbled. This carried on throughout the night and Ivan would mumble out the boy's name from time to time. When the sun rose and his body shifted, it was more of a soft rrr sound.
)*(
Matthew woke up around noon later and took Jiro over to Irunya's just as Mogens was returning to the den.
Matthew was at the entrance to the den, just about to knock on the door when he noticed Mogens return. The grey wolf had a rabbit in his mouth when he lifted his nose to smell the air; it smelt like Ivan's blood. "Hi." Matthew says with a wry smile, knowing he had to look like an absolute mess.
Mogens looked him up and down, and then tilted his head. What happened? Ivan's wounds reopened or something?
Matthew looked down at himself and sighed. "Ivan was protecting me and his wounds reopened."
Protecting you? From what? The wolf's ears pointed straight up in surprise.
"One of the pack members." The boy says with a sigh. "Apparently I don't smell like I'm Ivan's mate which made me seem uh, free for the taking to the pack member." He grimaces unhappily at this.
The wolf's ears turn back angrily. What! You've mated with Ivan so that makes you his. That ingrate should know to keep his penis away from another's mate! I hope Ivan gave him a good lesson! He growled.
"Ivan would've killed him if I hadn't stopped him." Matthew sighs, opening the door so they could go inside. He still couldn't tell exactly what they were saying when they were in this form but he was getting better at getting the general idea of what they were telling him and better at guessing what they wanted to know.
Mogens gave a wolf like chuckle and went inside with his tail held high and Irunya greeted them from her room with a happy bark.
"Hi Irunya." Matthew says, coming inside and shutting the door behind them. He walked over to the entrance of the room but didn't go inside. He wasn't sure if she'd want him near her pups when his clothes were covered in blood.
Mogens just walked inside with the dead rabbit in his mouth. With a light greeting of nuzzling noses, the couple did something that they had done on the trip, playing tug-of-war with the rabbit.
The blood didn't seem to bother either of them so Matthew walked in after a few moments, setting Jiro down. Jiro made a slightly impatient noise, wanting to be fed but waiting for space for him to be made first.
Irunya tugged off a piece before turning to Jiro. She stretched out a bit so Jiro could wiggle his way in; her pups were still nursing at the moment as well. The cub eventually wiggled in and started feeding and Matthew sat down nearby.
Irunya was now staring at Matthew with wide eyes and was unmoving. Mogens took notice and filled her in.
Matthew knew he looked like a mess, he didn't have a mirror but he probably had some blood on his hair and on his face from brushing his hair out of his face while his hands had blood on them but he wasn't sure. It was all over his clothes as well and he was certain he was he looked like a mess.
C-can you clean him up? I'll get him some new clothes after nursing.
Sure. I can do that. Mogens walked over to Matthew and started to lick the dried blood off his face. Matthew let him, even if it was still odd having anyone clean his face off this way but he was getting more used to just accepting things like this. After his face was cleaned, Mogens moved to his hair. Matthew let him, patiently waiting until the wolf was done. Jiro nursed until he was full then curled up and took a nap.
When everyone was finished nursing, Irunya got up and went to get Matthew some clean clothes. It didn't take long for her to come back with them in her mouth.
"Thanks." Matthew took them gratefully, going into another room and changing into them. He came back in the clean clothes, the bloody clothes in his hands as he was unsure where exactly to put them.
)*(
Days later, Matthew came back into the den after sundown, checking to see if Ivan was still resting or not. He found Ivan was sitting up in the den and staring at the wall with a tired look.
The boy set Jiro down and went over to Ivan, crouching down in front of him. "Hi Ivan. Glad to see you're finally awake again." He gave a small but relieved smile. "How do you feel?"
Ivan's eyes slowly moved towards Matthew before his head followed. He stared at the boy for a long while before looking back to the wall. "Heavy..."
"Ah, well you are still recovering." Matthew says, sitting down in front of him and shrugging. "I don't recommend trying anything like patrol or stuff like that yet."
Ivan leaned forward and rested his head in the crook of the boy's neck. "Rrr.." He growled softly.
The boy smiled a bit and ran a hand through Ivan's hair fondly; it was more of an affectionate move than it was to fix messy hair.
Ivan jumped, tensing up a bit, but did not lift his head.
Matthew started a bit in surprise as well, pausing a moment before continuing to run his hand through Ivan's hair. "Is there anything wrong with me doing this?" He asks curiously. "Or did I just surprise you by doing it?"
"No... Wolves like to be petted... a form of caring and comfort. Something that's done to show affection." Ivan said softly, only flinching a little this time, though he was still tense. "But."
"But...?"
"... No one has ever done that-this to me since... Since my mother died." His voice seemed to go even softer.
"Oh..." Matthew says softly, continuing to run a hand through Ivan's hair gently. Ivan was still tense but didn't say anything more. "Why are you so tense?"
Ivan didn't know if he could answer that out loud so he stayed quiet and Matthew continued stroking Ivan's hair quietly, waiting for a few moments before speaking again when it was obvious Ivan wasn't going to answer. "Do you want me to stop...?"
Ivan again didn't answer, but the boy didn't stop and even began humming a soothing tune. The tiger's tail started to flick back and forth slowly, his ear twitching a bit as Ivan listened. This continued on for a while, Matthew watching the tail flick back and forth with a gentle look.
"... Thank you..." Ivan said ever so softly.
Matthew smiled. "No problem."
Ivan started to relax his muscles and licked Matthew's neck.
Matthew gave a slight gasp of surprise but continued stroking Ivan's hair; glad to see he was relaxing a bit now. Ivan continued to lick, as it seemed Matthew was fine with it and flicked his tail back and forth. Both were enjoying this odd, but sweet moment between them.
Matthew watched Ivan's white and black tail flick back and forth a bit longer. Ah, wait. Tigers were generally orange and black. "Ah, Ivan?"
"Yes?"
"I think I know what kind of tiger you are..." He says slowly, trying to think of other tigers that were white but only coming up with one.
Ivan lifted his head and looked at him in surprise. "You do?"
"I think so. There's only one type I can think of with the same colors as you."
Ivan nodded with earnest. "And...?"
"I think... you're a white Siberian tiger."
"White Siberian tiger." Ivan repeated the words himself.
Matthew nodded. "Mhmm."
Ivan didn't know what to think and was about to feel extremely stupid for asking a question. "Matthew. What is a white Siberian tiger?"
Matthew paused in thought for a moment. "Well... it's basically a Siberian tiger but it's white and black, not orange and black like most tigers." He says slowly, listing anything he could remember about them. "Siberian tigers normally live in well, Siberia. Which is a cold and snowy place like this. Um, I'm pretty sure they're the largest type of cat. And I know they're considered an endangered species where I'm from." The boy stopped talking suddenly, looking like he regretted mentioning the last sentence and wished he hadn't said it.
"So... there are others like me in your world?" Ivan looked surprised and frowned a little. "And are losing chances to carry on as well?"
"Well, sort of, there are Siberian tigers on my world yes. But I'm pretty sure they don't have a um, moon form." The boy says, frowning softly. "And there's still a few hundred left but they're pretty well protected so they probably have a pretty decent chance of surviving."
"I see..." The tiger looked away and thought about it some more. "I think... I should get up now. I haven't eaten in days." He looked to the door after a moment.
Matthew nodded and stood up, offering a hand. "Would you like help up?"
"Yes, that would be helpful." He nodded.
The boy helped Ivan stand up slowly, but Ivan was very unsteady and had gotten very dizzy from just standing. Matthew helped balance him, making sure he didn't fall over.
"I need to eat." Ivan thought out loud.
Matthew smiled a bit. "You do." He says in agreement, still keeping a hand on Ivan.
"I'll have to hunt first though..."
Matthew arched an eyebrow. "I'm sure Natalia would get you something if you asked. You're in no state to do anything like that at the moment."
"But..."
"But nothing, you've lost way too much blood recently. You need to rest."
"I'm fine." The tiger scowled, but his legs weren't going to hold him up. He hadn't eaten in close to two weeks and with blood loss... His body could do nothing unless he really needed it.
"No you're not." Matthew replies with an unamused look.
Ivan growled but he had to sit down or he'd crush Matthew.
"Don't growl at me." The boy scolds sternly, crouching down in front of him with a stubborn frown. "I know I'm right because you can't even stand up on your own right now. Just sit there and rest while I go ask Natalia. Okay?"
Ivan looked away but said nothing.
"I'll be back soon." Lucky for Matthew, Natalia was sitting just outside and glared at him the second the he stepped outside. He ignored the glare and crouched down in front of her. "Natalia, could you go get something for Ivan to eat please? He hasn't eaten for a week or so and he's currently in no state to go get himself food."
She was silent and then huffed before standing up and walking away. "Fine, but I will not be bringing you anything."
"I didn't expect you to." He says, standing up and going back inside to find the tiger licking and picking at his wounds.
"Don't pick at them, you'll make them bleed more." He says disapprovingly, walking in and sitting down near him. "Also Natalia's going to get you something to eat now."
Ivan nodded and continued to tend to his wounds, eating off some of the dried blood and scabs. Matthew frowned disapprovingly and was slightly disgusted, but didn't say anything more against it.
After a bit Ivan glanced over at Matthew. "I... should put the marking back on you to keep you safe. Make it a routine every four or six days to make sure no one attempts to claim you."
"You should take care of yourself and get better first."
"And risk the chance of repeating what happen days before?" He narrowed his eyes.
"There's hardly any chance of repeating it if I stay near you while you recover."
"No. That leaves it up for others to challenge me and since I'm in this state, I wouldn't doubt if an adolescent challenged me."
"Oh." Matthew frowned. "Well, later then. Natalia will probably be back soon with food for you."
Ivan nodded and heard the door open. It only took a moment before Natalia came to the door with a rather large piece of meat in her jaws. If it weren't for the fact that she had lockjaws, the meat would have fallen from her mouth by now.
Matthew moved to sit next to Ivan rather than in front of him so Natalia could bring him the meat. She placed it in front of Ivan before licking his cheek and turning to leave. "Get well my brother."
"Thanks Natalia." Matthew says.
She said nothing as she left the den as Ivan slowly started to eat. For an odd reason his jaws were very sore. He ate until there was only a fair size of meat left and then picked it up in his jaws and inched it closer to Matthew. "Here... Go eat." He spoke around the meat.
"You eat it." The boy says with a soft smile. "You need it more than I do. I'll get some fruit later or something."
Ivan's ears dropped back and he growled as he placed the flesh down in front of Matthew. "No, I've eaten enough for the moment. I know my body and if I don't eat slow and a little at a time, I'll do myself no good in this state. Now go eat, it's my responsibility to feed you."
"Okay, okay." Matthew picked up the meat and standing up with a slight smile. "Thanks. I'll be back in a bit." He leaves the den and goes outside to cook and eat his meat.
Ivan sighs heavily and starts to take off his blood stained clothes. He still had wounds to tend to and new furs to get. He then cleaned the rest of his wounds and went to changing the furs of their nest.
After Matthew was done he sat in thought for several minutes before putting the fire out and going back inside. Ivan turned to greet the boy, but was still undressed. "Matthew I have changed the furs in the nest."
"Ah, I see." The boy says, blushing a bit and glancing away from Ivan.
"Is there something wrong...?"
"Nothing. Just- um, get some clothes on." He mumbles; looking a bit flustered at walking in on Ivan while he was undressed.
Ivan looked down at himself. He didn't see what the problem was; it wasn't like he was wandering the village. But if Matthew didn't like it, he would get dressed. "All right."
Matthew went over and sat down next to Jiro, petting the sleeping cub while Ivan got dressed in some clean clothes. They were actually the robes from the first night he received Matthew. "Is this better?"
The boy nodded as he looked up. "Mhmm."
"I'm sorry about that. I did not know that my body bothered you so."
"Ah! Sorry, um.. no. I-it's not that, um..." Matthew says, blushing and shaking his head. "I just don't, um… I mean, I'm not used to… um….." He blushed more and looked away, looking flustered and at a loss for words.
"... I see." Ivan looked away as well and slowly made his way back into their room. He had to get the bloodstained furs out and hopefully salvage them.
After a few moments, Matthew stood up and followed Ivan to help him; he was still blushing lightly though. "Sorry um... I just grew up learning that it wasn't um… proper I suppose, to walk in on anyone like that unless they were your um.. lover or something like that.." He says, apologizing in a quiet embarrassed tone.
The tiger's ears dropped back slightly. "Ah, so that's why. I understand what you mean." Matthew nodded; still a bit embarrassed but he helped Ivan get the bloodstained furs out of their room and followed Ivan all the way out the front door.
Once outside, Ivan sat down and rubbed some snow into the pelts to try and remove the blood. He would take them to the hot springs later when he would be ready for travel.
Matthew sat down next to him, watching what he was doing for a moment before doing the same.
The man glanced at Matthew and chuckled lightly. "Never washed something before Matthew?"
The boy blushed and laughed a little as well. "Not like this, no."
"Ah, well I would go back to the lake, but... I don't want to put you in danger over something like this."
"Going back to the lake right now would put you in danger as well, not just me."
"Mm." He sounded unmoved by the thought of him in danger.
The boy gave him a disapproving look before turning his attention back to trying to get the blood out of the furs. "You need to take better care of yourself." He grumbles, frowning at the furs while he cleaned them.
"I'm alive aren't I?"
Matthew glances at him for a moment with an annoyed look before going back to cleaning the furs, scrubbing a bit more vigorously. "You know, for someone who wants their race to continue, you don't seem very concerned with taking care of yourself long enough to actually let that happen." He mutters, more to himself than to Ivan.
Ivan glanced towards Matthew but said nothing and pretended he didn't hear anything. How could he, after everything, tell Matthew that he had changed his mind?